The BJP tried to stitch together a coalition government. in Tamil Nadu with DMK and AIADMK on election results day: Congress MP Manickam Tagore

B. Manickam Tagore. File | Photo credit: G. Moorthy

The BJP tried to stitch together a coalition government in Tamil Nadu with the DMK and its arch-rival AIADMK on May 4, the day of counting of votes polled during the Assembly elections, accused Congress MP for Virudhunagar B. Manickam Tagore on Sunday (May 24, 2026).

He claimed that an important BJP leader spoke to AIADMK leaders and DMK leaders to facilitate a coalition.

“DMK leader Udhayanidhi Stalin was quick to jump on this coalition idea with the sole motive of preventing TVK president C. Joseph Vijay from becoming chief minister but he failed in his attempt,” he alleged.

Mr. Tagore’s claim comes in the backdrop of Mr. Udhayanidhi Stalin launching a scathing attack on the Congress a day earlier.

According to him, the DMK, with its outside support, wanted to make AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami the chief minister to prevent Mr. Vijay from becoming the CM.

The TVK leaders were repeatedly made to wait by the Governor when he invited them to form the government as the entire drama was ordered by the BJP, he further alleged. “We came to know about the development immediately… but we didn’t disclose it then,” the Virudhunagar MP said.

He said CPI (M) leader MA Baby, VCK leader Thol also shared the same information. Thirumavalavan, AIADMK leader C. Ve. Shanmugam and IUML leader Kader Mohideen.

“The DMK will soon reach an understanding with the BJP. 22 DMK MPs will either walk out of Parliament or abstain from voting (against the BJP-led Centre),” he alleged.

Pointing to the DMK asking the Speaker of the Lok Sabha to allocate a different seat arrangement away from the Congress after the latter unilaterally cut ties with him, Mr Tagore wondered if the DMK would sit “in the middle”. “They would gradually extend their support to the BJP,” he added.

Mr. Udhayanidhi has brought the DMK to a stage where the party is likely to give up all its ideologies that it stood for all these years, he believed.

Condemning Mr. Udhayanidhi for his strong remarks against Congress leaders, Mr. Tagore said that Congress men knew how to repay the DMK.

All DMK’s claims of promoting secularism and not harming the TVK government during the first six months were just a sham. All the Congress wanted was to prevent the BJP from directly or indirectly entering the Tamil Nadu government.

“The DMK believed that all its alliance parties would fall for its claim that the AIADMK had broken away from the BJP and expected them to support the AIADMK government. And if a TVK leader became the chief minister, it would be under the BJP’s control. But because the Congress did not give DMK any scope for such manipulations,” DMK spews Congress venom.

The INDIA alliance still remains strong and will continue to fight the Modi government at the centre, he said.

Published – 24 May 2026 17:54 IST